Le Carnaval de Nice

This weekend I went to Nice. For those who aren't familiar with French geography, Nice is in the South of France and right on the Mediterranean. As requested, I will try to include more pics in my blogs that way you can see first-hand what I'm seeing while I'm here.

Of course, I love the beach, so when I got off the bus and saw blue water, I was sold. Aix is nice- no, correction, Aix is awesome, but Nice has the beach... It would be stiff competition for any city to compete with. But what's more is that there are also mountains. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I could wake up and go for a morning swim (the Mediterranean waters tend to be warm), and then go for a hike, or even skiing. It's like being home in Virginia where the mountains and beach are both a few hours away!!! If you look at this pic, you'll see what I mean.

The downside would be that the beach isn't sandy. Don't let the pic fool you!!! There are cailloux (pebbles) down there. Granted, that didn't stop people from having an awesome time!!! As you can see, there were still people on the beach, running along the beach, taking pics of the beach... you get the idea.

Why was I in Nice, you may ask. Well, every year there's the Carnival of Nice. It's kind of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It's supposed to be a festival to get ready for Lent. The celebration that we went to is called la Bataille des Fleurs (The Battle of the Flowers). A lot of the floats had flowers on them, and they were supposed to represent a tribu (tribe) of Nice. That was pretty cool because you got to learn a little bit about the history of the city while looking at all the floats and stuff.

Another thing that was really cool- the costumes. They were really elaborate and flashy, and they made me feel really happy. This particular costume was really cool. I call it the Peacock-angle Man. As you can see, he seems to have both wings and feathers. I don't know exactly what they were going for, but it looks cool!!!


My favorite float of the day, however, had to be the dragon!!! His head moved, he had smoke coming out of his nostrils, and he was not afraid to get ridiculously close to the crowd. It was really nice!!! To think that people put all that hard work into a float that will only be used this one time... It's an amazing thought!!! That's dedication!!!


Finally, as I contemplated my trip, I thought to myself, "I could live here". And what do you know, they have a palais de justice. So now, all I have to do is find a French law school that will have me, move to France, become a lawyer (then judge), and pass my days swimming, presiding, and skiing. What luck!!!

The least you need to know:

1. Nice was nice!!! See what I did there?
2. Le Carnaval was a chance to learn a little about the city's history, and a great time to have fun.
3. I want to go back; perhaps to visit, perhaps to live. I'll keep you posted.